China-developed five-minute potato virus test expands to more than 10 countries

A rapid test kit developed by Southwest University in Chongqing can identify six potato viruses in five minutes and is now being used in China and more than 10 Belt and Road partner countries, Xinhua reported on Oct. 25. The Xinhua item describes wider use but gives no country list or deployment count.

The university kit addresses a practical point in seed-potato production: checking whether planting material carries viruses before it is propagated or distributed. A 2024 report by Chongqing’s agriculture and rural affairs commission said the team developed the test using nanozyme labeling and immunochromatography. It said the strip requires neither specialist equipment nor technical operation, and that a strip at that stage could detect one or two viruses in five minutes.

The earlier report put the cost as low as 10 yuan per strip and described promotion among potato businesses and research institutions in Chongqing and several other Chinese provinces, as well as Bangladesh and Kazakhstan. That is evidence of an earlier rollout, not a current price list or a complete account of the international users now referenced by Xinhua. The newer report describes a six-virus capability, but does not specify which viruses, the performance of each test, or whether all six are detected by one strip.

The distinction matters because virus testing is part of seed quality control, rather than a direct measure of crop yield or disease losses. Chongqing’s 2024 account said growers and seed producers need to monitor virus status in tissue-cultured seedlings and seed potatoes before and during propagation. It contrasted the kit with laboratory approaches that may require professional equipment and longer turnaround, though the report did not publish a comparative trial or quantify time saved across farms.

Xinhua’s latest report presents the test as a technology with cross-border agricultural use. It does not name the partner countries, identify an exporting company, or report sales, licensing revenue, adoption rates or crop outcomes.